Training of Practical Clinical Skills in Surgery - A Training Concept for Medical Students

Background: During undergraduate medical education, the trainee should not only gain theoretical knowledge but also acquire essential skills. Several studies have demonstrated that practical training can be improved. However, only single training concepts for solitary skills have been developed and evaluated. This work presents a training programme for basic surgical skills. Materials and Methods: A one-week training of practical skills has been integrated into the obligatory four-week surgical course. Students pass through twelve training units of surgical skills training using the skills lab, simulation and role playing. Results: Evaluations of our training programme were excellent (average grade 1.3). After skill training, students felt more comfortable and secure when actually performing skills on the ward. Conclusions: A standardised training can help in the provision of basic surgical skills to all undergraduate medical students.